Free Every Time We Say Goodbye by Colette Caddle Page B

family?’ Dot challenged.
    ‘Yes, I did—’
    ‘Then let me do my bit.’
    Marianne smiled though the tears weren’t far away. ‘You know, as mother-in-laws go, you’re not the worst.’
    ‘Easy, I’ll get a big head,’ Dot laughed. ‘As for the children, I could still take care of them and get some part-time work in the mornings while they’re at school.’
    ‘I suppose.’
    ‘Don’t worry. We’ve enough grey matter between us to figure something out. I suppose you’ll be selling this place?’
    Marianne stared at her. ‘Isn’t that a bit drastic?’
    ‘I don’t think so. It must cost a fortune to heat and think of what you’d save on the mortgage.’
    ‘I suppose,’ Marianne said, trying to remember exactly what Johnny had said about losing the house.
    Would it be better to sell it before Matthews and Baldwin took possession of it? Was she even allowed to? She’d have to make a list of questions to ask Johnny, but she had a feeling that he was right; she needed legal advice. The thought of leaving the large, four-bedroom, red-brick house in Asgard Court didn’t upset her that much; she had never really felt at home here. She figured that had more to do with Dominic than the house or its stunning location. He had only bought the property because it was a good investment and a worthy address of a junior partner. Marianne had been so caught up with Andrew’s imminent birth that she had gone along with the purchase. It was only months later that she realized how quiet and reserved the neighbourhood was and that there were no women her age and no small children. In recent years she had come to associate the house with the cold, hard, abusive stranger her husband had become.
    She knew for a fact that although Dot enjoyed the pretty garden and the lovely walks, she missed the bustling, noisy estate in Kilbarrack where she’d spent her entire married life. It had been hard to leave her home but even after the move to Howth, Dot spent most of her spare time with her old neighbours and friends and couldn’t bring herself to sell her home. Instead she rented it out to a couple of student nurses, ignoring Dominic’s warning that they would probably wreck the place and she would be better to sell and have a nest egg for her old age. But the nurses were two quiet girls from Roscommon who kept the house immaculate and soon became popular with the neighbours as they were always quick to run errands and dole out medical advice.
    ‘So? What do you think?’ Dot was looking at her expectantly.
    Marianne looked at her. ‘Sorry?’
    ‘About selling?’
    ‘It would be madness to do that now with the property market in the state it’s in,’ she said, thinking on her feet while realizing it was true. ‘The house is probably only worth half what it was when we bought it.’
    ‘That’s true; I hadn’t thought of that. Still . . .’ Dot broke off, looking thoughtful.
    ‘Yes?’ Marianne prompted.
    ‘Well, I’m just thinking; you could do what I did, you could rent this place out.’
    ‘And take somewhere smaller? It’s an idea.’
    ‘No, we could move into my house and it wouldn’t cost us a penny.’ Dot’s eyes danced at the thought of going home. ‘Nora and Eileen will be moving out in two months.’
    ‘They’re moving out? I thought they were happy there,’ Marianne said, playing for time; she didn’t know quite how she felt about Dot’s brainwave.
    ‘They are, but they miss their families and now that they’ve qualified they’re taking up jobs closer to home. So, what do you think?’
    ‘I don’t know, Dot,’ Marianne hesitated.
    Leaving here was one thing; moving into her mother-in-law’s three-bedroom terrace house, quite another. Although they got on well, two strong women sharing a small kitchen might be a challenge.
    ‘It would be an awful trek for school every day,’ she pointed out; it was the first excuse she could think of. Dot didn’t respond and she looked over to find